


Rina's Windows 95 Tips, Tricks, and Tweaks

by Zinthezinner



Category: Love Live! School Idol Festival ALL STARS (Video Game), ラブライブ! 虹ヶ咲学園スクールアイドル同好会 | Love Live! Nijigasaki Gakuen School Idol Doukoukai (Anime)
Genre: Body Horror, F/F, Gen, Horror, Minesweeper - Freeform, Technology, Warnings May Change, Windows 95 - Freeform, Windows 95 Tips Tricks and Tweaks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-18 07:08:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29485770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zinthezinner/pseuds/Zinthezinner
Summary: “Welcome to Windows 95Did you know…Touch your monitor. It is warm, like flesh.But it is not flesh.Not yet.”A fic about Rina playing Minesweeper on an old computer, and playing Minesweeper on an old computer, and playing Minesweeper on an old computer. Is it old, though? It's 1995, isn't it? Never mind that she was born several years after that. It's a perfectly ordinary computer, bulky ivory plastic and all. It has a perfectly ordinary operating system, obsessive welcome messages and all.What's the harm in a couple of simple games?
Relationships: Takasaki Yuu/Tennouji Rina
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	1. Present Day... Present Time...

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RubyKurosawa18](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RubyKurosawa18/gifts).



> for spoilers, visit:  
> https://windows95tips.com

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Yu and Rina decide to buy an old computer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you know that Windows95 Tips, Tricks, and Tweaks was a Neil Cicierega project? I didn't.  
> also I only got to like episode 5 of Serial Experiments Lain, but I have a mutual who posts about it a lot and it left a big impact, so there's definitely influence from there too.

“Man, talking to that teacher is like walking through a minefield!” Yu groans.  
“Right? I was thinking the same thing! It’s like playing minesweeper on the computer…”   
“And sometimes you hit a mine first click?”   
“Yes, exactly!” Ayumu replied, eyes lighting up.   
  
Rina had a rush of memories from her younger years. She’d been… 11 when last she played the game? And had played it every now and then on the family computer for several years before. It had been what, 4, nearly 5 years since last she’d thought about it? She could still recall the colours of the numbers, the relief of clicking into a vast open area, the tension of uncertainty when it was down to luck, the devastation of hitting those spiked mines. It was a thrill Rina was surprised she had forgotten so easily.   
  
“I remember that too… Rina-chan board: nostalgia |9u9|”   
“Nostalgia is right… it’d probably be pretty underwhelming now though, right? Tech’s come a long way in such a short time!”   
“Ahaha, you never know! It might hit in just the right spot! Maybe we should see if we can find it somewhere? I don’t think it comes with the computer any more, otherwise I’d probably still play it sometimes.”   
“Would you need to install an older operating system? I don’t know how to do that…”   
“Support for old operating systems is very limited at best, Ayumu-san. Though, you could probably find an old machine with it still installed… if you can find it and pay. Rina-chan board: consumerist hell |$o$|”   
  
Rina’s girlfriend put her hand to her chin in thought.   
  
“Yu-chan? What is it?” Ayumu asked.   
“Hm? Ah, nothing, nothing! Just wondering what it’d be like to get something older than me. I wonder how old you could go? When was minesweeper even introduced?”   
“I can look it up.”   
  
Rina pulled out her phone and searched for the Wikipedia article on the game. It was an easy find, especially with fingers as fast as hers.   
  
“First officially released as part of the Microsoft Entertainment Pack 1 in 1990, it was first included in the standard install of Windows 3.1 in 1992, replacing Reversi from Windows 3.0.[1] Microsoft Minesweeper was included withou-”   
“Ahaha, I think we get it! 1992’s probably the earliest guarantee then, right?”   
“Right.”   
“Are you two thinking about buying a computer from 1992 just to play minesweeper? Thinking about it, I’m sure there’s some sort of recreated version online…”   
“It’s all about a unique experience though, isn’t it? It’d be easier, but would the reward taste as sweet?”   
“Yes? Yu-chan, you’re being weird!”   
“No, I think she has a point. There’s something different about older tech, it’s the vibes.”   
“Yeah, yeah! The vibes, the vibes!”   
  
Ayumu looked utterly bewildered. Rina wished she could make a face like that naturally… no matter, though. She could just draw it.   
  
“You guys are strange… but it seems pretty harmless at least? Apart from on your wallets.”   
“My wallet will be fine, but thank you for your concern. Rina-chan board: financially responsible |$_$|”   
  
Both her seniors laughed at that, which made her feel accomplished.   
  
“You really wanna do this then, huh Rina-chan?”   
“Yes. I can see value in examining that technology beyond minesweeper as well, it might teach me something despite its age. It’s not a waste if you use it, right?”   
“Mhm!”   
“I guess that’s true… have fun then!”   
“Thank you, I will.”


	2. A Bad Start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Rina's win/loss ratio is instantly ruined.

“Hi, Rina-chan! You look super cute today!”   
“I do?”   
“You do! Your acne’s cleared up a bit, and your hair’s really shiny! I bet it smells nice~”   
“You want to… smell my hair..?”   
  
Rina flipped her board to a |?.?| face, and that prompted Yu to realise that   
  
“I said that aloud?”   
“You did.”   
“W-well partners do that sometimes anyway, right? People who love each other smell each others’ hair all the time!”   
“Do they? I didn’t know that.”   
“Sure, ask anybody!”   
“I’ll ask Karin-san then.”   
“Ahaha… anyway, you’ve got the computer set up now? What’s it like? Can we play minesweeper now?”   
“Oh, right. This way, please.”   
  
Rina lead her girlfriend to her bedroom, where she’d set up a very clunky machine.   
  
“I couldn’t get one from 1992, but I got one from 1995. It was a big bargain, being sold by the sibling of the owner after the owner died.”   
“That’s pretty sad. Any idea what they died of?”   
“They took their own life, apparently. It seemed hard for the sibling to talk about, so I didn’t push it.”   
“D’ya think it’s haunted?”   
“Haunted? I doubt it. It booted up just fine.”   
“Alright, I trust ya! The screen is so weird. Elegant in its simplicity though, don’t you think?”   
“I suppose so. The plain teal background is calming, and the lack of clutter feels nice.”   
  
Looking to Yu, Rina found the girl’s eyes glued to the screen. She couldn’t blame her, really. Not with how excited she herself was. The anticipation had her heart racing when she picked the machine up, and it had lasted all the way from then until now. It had taken a significant amount of self-restraint to avoid playing the game before her girlfriend had a chance to get to her house, but now? She didn’t have to hold back.   
  
She opened the program through a series of menus. It seemed very unintuitive.   
  
They were greeted by a smiling face in a grey window.   
  
“What level did you play on as a kid? I played on intermediate. Never could quite get the hang of expert haha!”   
“Expert.”   
“Awesome! Are you gonna set it to expert now then?”   
  
How hard could it be?   
  
“I want to try.”   
“How do we set it to a different difficulty? Is it ‘game’? Can I see the different boards?”   
  
Rina demonstrated the different sized boards, finishing on the largest.   
  
“Wicked! Can I pick the first click?”   
“Sure.”   
  
A finger hovered over the screen, tracing patterns in the air above it trying to decide where to choose.   
  
“There!” Yu exclaimed, finger over a square near the middle, slightly upwards and to the right of dead centre.   
  
Dutifully, Rina clicked the square.   
  
It was a mine.   
  
The other mines were revealed, and the game ended.   
  
“Ahhhh, sorry! I ruined your K/D ratio right off the bat. Or, I guess it's a win/loss ratio? Head got mixed up. Anyway, unlucky!”   
“It’s fine. May I pick the first one this time?”   
“Yeah, of course!”   
  
Rina chose the polar opposite of Yu’s pick, revealing a vast swathe of clear tiles.   
  
“Oh man, you’re good at this!”   
“It was luck. From here on out it is mostly skill. Rina-chan board: determined! |>o<|”   
“I think that one’s gotta be a mine, by the way.” Yu pointed out.   
“Correct. There is a 1 at a corner with only one covered tile within range. I’ll flag it.”   
  
A little red flag was placed.   
  
“And since there’s a 1 right next to it, that means the next tile over is clear, right?”   
“Correct.”   
  
The next tile over was clicked, proving it to indeed be cleared.   
  
“I’ve still got it! Mind you, I still think I’d get lost going all the way through an expert one, haha!”   
“I’ll do it, you can watch.”   
“You got a spare chair for me then?”   
“I’ll fetch one.”   
  
She did that, and when she returned she found that Yu was still staring at the screen, seemingly willing herself to not press any buttons.   
  
“Here you go.”   
“Ahh, thanks!”   
“It’s no trouble.”   
  
The two took their seats in front of the monitor.   
  
“Bit weird watching someone play a game like this, isn’t it? It’s pretty normal to play something by yourself, but this kind of game… you don’t see many letsplays, do you?”   
“I once watched a stream of paint drying.”   
“Really?”   
  
It had been one of the most-viewed streams on the platform at the time, did Yu think it was that strange? Although, she did have a point about it being somewhat unconventional.   
  
“The same person played solitaire on stream, too. They commentated like you’d expect from a more active game.”   
“I guess people will watch anything, huh? No offense!”   
“None taken.”   
“I know I kinda implied it was boring, but I think it’s different when it’s you. I probably wouldn’t go out of my way for this stuff, but it’s different when it’s a partner, y’know?”   
  
Was it? Rina wasn’t sure, but she nodded along anyway.   
  
“Back to it then?”   
“Mm.”   
  
The game went smoothly for Rina, and she was done soon enough. The face in the minesweeper window smiled in apparent approval when she won, as did the face of her girlfriend right before the hug. A small smile graced her own face, worming its way to expression from the depths of her feelings.   
  
“Totally worth it! You gonna keep playing?”   
“Of course.”   



End file.
